社評 0606 我們從幕後走向台前

我們從幕後走向台前

將近四百位華亞裔及太平洋島嶼社區代表上週五首次集聚在參議員惠特邁參選市長之大型集會上，我們大家同唱國歌， 牽手上台， 為我們首次大型之政治活動而歡呼， 更是我們第一次從幕後走向台前。 

根據最新統計數據顯示， 大休斯敦地區之華亞裔及太平洋島裔居民人數已經躍升到一百二十多萬， 佔人口總數之百分之二十六， 而且多半是受過高等教育及商業主， 這股力量已經充分說明我們在政治上已經步入舉足輕重之地位。

就在過去二十年來 ，我們在德州達拉斯及休斯敦之華亞裔人口結構產生了翻天復地之極大變化， 換言之，華亞裔正在走進美國主流之政治和經濟主流 。

正如前總統里根說過 ，只有我們美國，不論你來自世界任何角落都可以成為美國人，這句話正充分印証， 千千萬萬之移民， 你將是這塊土地的一份子， 因為我們是個澈頭澈尾的移民國家。

We Have Walked From Behind The Scenes To The Front Of The Stage 

Nearly 400 Asian Pacific Islander community leaders gathered for     the first time last Friday to support Senator John Whitmire's run for  Mayor of Houston. We all sang the national anthem together, held hands on the stage and cheered for our first large-scale political event. It was the first time we went from the back to the front of the stage. 

According to the latest statistics,  the number of AAPI residents in the greater Houston area has already reached 1.2 million with 26% of the total population. Most of them are college graduates and small business owners. 

As former President Reagan said, "Only in the United States can anybody become an American, no matter where you came from." And because of this, we are the country of immigrants. 

We are so glad that time is on our side. We will try to be united to show our strong participation in politics